Expedition 70

Last updated
Expedition 70
Axiom Mission 3 at the ISS.jpg
Oleg Kononenko (orange t-shirt) along with his other Expedition 70 crew members (red t-shirts) and Axiom Mission 3 crew (black jumpsuits)
Mission type Long-duration expedition
Operator NASA / Roscosmos
Mission duration191 days and 20 hours
Expedition
Space stationInternational Space Station
Began27 September 2023 [1]
Ended6 April 2024
Arrived aboard Soyuz MS-24
SpaceX Crew-7
Soyuz MS-25
SpaceX Crew-8
Departed aboard Soyuz MS-24
SpaceX Crew-7
Crew
Crew size7
Members
EVAs 2
EVA duration14 hours 23 minutes
ISS Expedition 70 Patch.svg
Mission patch
Iss070-s-002.jpg
Top row, from left: Chub, Borisov, Kononenko, Furukawa, and O'Hara
Bottom row: Mogensen and Moghbeli

Expedition 70 was the 70th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station. The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-23 on 27 September 2023 [2] [3] [4] with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen taking over the ISS command. It ended with the departure of Soyuz MS-24 on 6 April 2024. [5]

Contents

Background, Crew and Events

Initially, the expedition consisted of Andreas and his three SpaceX Crew-7 crewmates, Jasmin Moghbeli, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov from America, Japan, and Russia respectively, as well as Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (who later assumed the ISS command) and Nikolai Chub (both on a year long ISS mission), and another American astronaut Loral O'Hara, who launched aboard Soyuz MS-24 on September 15, 2023 and were transferred from Expedition 69 alongside the SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts. [6]

However, even after several months of outfitting EVAs and RTOd heat radiator installation, six months later on 9 October 2023, the Nauka RTOd radiator malfunctioned before active use of Nauka (the purpose of RTOd installation is to radiate heat from Nauka experiments). The malfunction, a leak, rendered the RTOd radiator unusable for Nauka. This is the third ISS radiator leak after Soyuz MS-22 and Progress MS-21 radiator leaks. If a spare RTOd is not available, Nauka experiments will have to rely on Nauka's main launch radiator and the module could never be utilized to its full capacity. [7] [8]

The crew was later replenished by subsequent crew rotation missions in the expedition, SpaceX Crew-8, consisting of American astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, and Soyuz MS-25, consisting of Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, Belarusian space tourist Marina Vasilevskaya, and American astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson. [5] Originally, the Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test was supposed to dock during the expedition. Instead, it was again moved farther down the vehicle schedule to May during Expedition 71. [9] The space station was also visited by a non-expedition crew, Axiom Mission 3, consisting of former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría (who previously commanded the station during Expedition 14), Italian astronaut Walter Villadei, ESA Swedish Project astronaut Marcus Wandt, and Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı.

Events manifest

Events involving crewed spacecraft are listed in bold.

Previous mission: Expedition 69

27 September 2023 – Soyuz MS-23 undocking, official switch from Expedition 69

9 October 2023 – Nauka outfitting RtoD Add-on Heat Radiator Leak Event

25/26 October 2023 – EVA 1 (VKD-61) Kononenko/Chub: 7 hrs, 41 mins [10]

1 November 2023 – EVA 2 (US-89) Moghbeli/O'Hara: 6 hrs, 42 mins [11]

11 November 2023 – CRS SpX-29 docking

29 November 2023 – Progress MS-23/84P undocking

3 December 2023 – Progress MS-25/86P docking

21 December 2023 – CRS SpX-29 undocking

22 December 2023 – CRS NG-19 unberthing and release

20 January 2024 – Axiom Mission 3 docking (non-Expedition crew)

1 February 2024 – CRS Cygnus NG-20 capture and berthing

7 February 2024 – Axiom Mission 3 undocking (non-Expedition crew)

13 February 2024 – Progress MS-24/85P undocking

17 February 2024 – Progress MS-26/87P docking [12]

5 March 2024 – SpaceX Crew-8 docking [13]

10 March 2024 – ISS Expedition 70 change of command ceremony from Andreas Mogensen to Oleg Kononenko

11 March 2024 – SpaceX Crew-7 undocking

23 March 2024 – CRS SpX-30 docking

25 March 2024 – Soyuz MS-25 docking (Expedition 70/71 & ISS EP-21)

29 March 2024 – Kononenko and Chub's seat liner from Soyuz MS-24 swapped with Novitsky and Vasilevskaya's seat liner from Soyuz MS-25 for MS-24 landing [14]

6 April 2024 – Soyuz MS-24 undocking, official switch to Expedition 71

Next: Expedition 71

Sources: [12] [5] [15]

Crew

Flight [5] AstronautIncrement 70aIncrement 70bIncrement 70cIncrement 70d
27 Sep 2023 - 5 Mar 20245 - 11 Mar 202411 - 25 Mar 202425 Mar - 6 Apr 2024
Soyuz MS-24 Flag of Russia.svg Oleg Kononenko, Roscosmos
Fifth spaceflight		Flight engineerCommander [16]
Flag of Russia.svg Nikolai Chub, Roscosmos
First spaceflight		Flight engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Loral O'Hara, NASA
First spaceflight		Flight engineer
SpaceX Crew-7 Flag of the United States.svg Jasmin Moghbeli, NASA
First spaceflight		Flight engineerOff station
Flag of Denmark.svg Andreas Mogensen, ESA
Second spaceflight		CommanderOff station
Flag of Japan.svg Satoshi Furukawa, JAXA
Second spaceflight		Flight engineerOff station
Flag of Russia.svg Konstantin Borisov, Roscosmos
First spaceflight		Flight engineerOff station
SpaceX Crew-8 Flag of the United States.svg Matthew Dominick, NASA
First spaceflight		Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Barratt, NASA
Third spaceflight		Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Jeanette Epps, NASA
Only spaceflight		Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of Russia.svg Alexander Grebenkin, Roscosmos
First spaceflight		Off stationFlight engineer
Soyuz MS-25 Flag of the United States.svg Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, NASA
Third spaceflight		Off stationFlight engineer

Besides the expedition crew, Crew Dragon visited the station, carrying Axiom Mission 3, consisting of Michael López-Alegría of Axiom Space (formerly NASA), Walter Villadei of the Italian Ministry of Defence, Alper Gezeravcı of the Turkish Space Agency, and Marcus Wandt of the Swedish National Space Agency. [17]

The Soyuz MS-25 vehicle carried expedition member Tracy Caldwell-Dyson and visitors Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and Marina Vasilevskaya, a flight attendant trained by the Belarus Space Agency for ISS EP-21. One week after docking, Novitsky and Vasilevskaya returned with expedition member Loral O'Hara on the Soyuz MS-24 vehicle. Meanwhile, Kononenko and Chub, who launched on MS-24, returned on the MS-25 vehicle. [5]

Vehicle manifest

For the first time, during 25 March–6 April 2024, all seven currently active ports of ISS were occupied. [18]

Vehicle [5] PurposePortDocking/capture dateUndocking date
Vehicles inherited from Expedition 69
Flag of Russia.svg Progress MS-23/84PCargo Poisk zenith24 May 202329 Nov 2023
Flag of the United States.svg CRS NG-19 Cargo Unity nadir4 Aug 202322 Dec 2023
Flag of Russia.svg Progress MS-24/85PCargo Zvezda aft25 Aug 202313 Feb 2024
Flag of the United States.svg SpaceX Crew-7 "Endurance"Exp. 69/70 crew Harmony zenith27 Aug 202311 Mar 2024
Flag of Russia.svg Soyuz MS-24/70S "Antares"Exp. 69/70 crew Rassvet nadir15 Sep 20236 Apr 2024
Vehicles docked during Expedition 70
Flag of the United States.svg CRS SpX-29 Cargo Harmony forward11 Nov 202321 Dec 2023
Flag of Russia.svg Progress MS-25/86PCargo Poisk zenith3 Dec 202328 May 2024 (Exp. 71)
Flag of the United States.svg Ax-3 "Freedom"Visiting commercial mission Harmony forward20 Jan 20247 Feb 2024
Flag of the United States.svg CRS NG-20 Cargo Unity nadir1 Feb 202412 Jul 2024 (Exp. 71)
Flag of Russia.svg Progress MS-26/87PCargo Zvezda aft17 Feb 202413 Aug 2024 (Exp. 71)
Flag of the United States.svg SpaceX Crew-8 "Endeavour"Exp. 70/71/72 crew Harmony forward5 Mar 202423 Oct 2024 (Exp. 72)
Flag of the United States.svg CRS SpX-30 Cargo Harmony zenith23 Mar 202428 Apr 2024 (Exp. 71)
Flag of Russia.svg Soyuz MS-25/71S "Kazbek"Exp. 70/71 crew, Visiting Expedition 21 Prichal nadir25 Mar 202423 Sep 2024 (Exp. 71)
Segment Flag of the United States.svg U.S. Orbital Segment Flag of Russia.svg Russian Orbital Segment
PeriodHarmony forwardHarmony zenithHarmony nadirUnity nadirRassvet nadirPrichal nadirPoisk zenithZvezda aft
27 Sep–11 Nov 2023VacantSpaceX Crew-7VacantCRS NG-19Soyuz MS-24VacantProgress MS-23Progress MS-24
11–29 Nov 2023CRS SpX-29
29 Nov–3 Dec 2023Vacant
3–21 Dec 2023Progress MS-25
21–22 Dec 2023Vacant
22 Dec 2023–20 Jan 2024Vacant
20 Jan–1 Feb 2024Ax-3
1–7 Feb 2024CRS NG-20
7–13 Feb 2024Vacant
13–17 Feb 2024Vacant
17 Feb–5 Mar 2024Progress MS-26
5–11 Mar 2024SpaceX Crew-8
11–23 Mar 2024Vacant
23–25 Mar 2024CRS SpX-30
25 Mar–6 Apr 2024Soyuz MS-25

The Prichal aft, forward, starboard, and aft ports all have yet to be used since the module originally docked to the station and are not included in the table.

References

  1. ↑ Graf, Abby (27 September 2023). "Crewed Soyuz Spacecraft undocking Live on NASA TV". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Dinner, Josh (23 August 2023). "SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts will handle over 200 science experiments on ISS". Space.com . Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Evans, Ben (10 September 2023). "Better Late Than Never: New ISS Crew Prepares to Fly, All-Female EVAs Possible in October". AmericaSpace.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Graf, Abby (27 September 2023). "Crewed Soyuz Spacecraft undocking Live on NASA TV". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Complete ISS flight events". NasaSpaceFlight.com Forum. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Shipkenov, Maxim. "Soyuz MS-24 preps continue days before launch". ABS-CBN . Archived from the original on 29 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Robinson-Smith, Will. "Russian space station laboratory module appears to spring coolant leak – Spaceflight Now". Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Госкорпорация «Роскосмос»". Telegram. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  9. ↑ Sturm, Karin (20 November 2023). "Stars aligning for Boeing crew launch in April". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Pearlman, Robert Z. (26 October 2023). "Cosmonauts on ISS spacewalk encounter coolant 'blob' while inspecting leaky radiator". Space.com . Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Pearlman, Robert Z. (1 November 2023). "NASA astronauts complete 4th-ever all-female spacewalk outside International Space Station". Space.com . Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Launch Schedule – Spaceflight Now" . Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  13. ↑ Finch, Joshua; Cheshier, Leah, eds. (17 January 2024). "NASA Sets Briefings for Crew-8, International Space Station Missions" (Press release). NASA. M24-006. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Preparations for landing Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft underway". eng.belta.by. 2024-03-29. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  15. ↑ "Microgravity Research Flights". Glenn Research Center. NASA. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  16. ↑ Harwood, William (2024-03-11). "4 International Space Station crew members undock, head for Tuesday splashdown in Gulf of Mexico - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  17. ↑ Howell, Elizabeth (13 December 2023). "SpaceX to launch 3rd private astronaut mission to the ISS for Axiom Space on Jan. 9". Space.com . Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Soyuz MS-25 Crew Hatch Opening and Welcome Remarks | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.